Rio Rita (1942 film)
Rio Rita is a 1942 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello. It was based upon the 1927 Flo Ziegfeld Broadway musical, which was previously made into a 1929 film that starred the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Production Rio Rita is the first of three films that Abbott and Costello made while on loan to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while under contract to Universal; the other two pictures being Lost in a Harem and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. Rio Rita was filmed from November 10, 1941 through January 14, 1942. It was during filming that Abbott and Costello had their hand and footprints enshrined at Grauman's Chinese Theater on the night of Dec. 8, 1941. In addition, at the same time Abbott and Costello signed a new agreement regarding their partnership. Previously, any deal that they signed required Abbott to be paid $10 more than Costello. After the new deal signed on January 9, 1942, Costello would now earn 60 percent of their salary with Abbott taking only 40 percent.Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0 Joe Kirk, who later played Mr. Bacciagalupe in The Abbott and Costello Show, has a small role. (Kirk later became the Costello's brother-in-law). Plot Nazi spies have infiltrated the Hotel Vista del Rio, a resort on the Mexican border. They plan to use a radio broadcast by a famous guest, Ricardo Montera (John Carroll), to transmit coded messages to their cohorts. Doc (Bud Abbott) and Wishy (Lou Costello) are stowaways in Montera's car, who steal a basket of "apples" that turn out being miniature radios used by the spies. Rita Winslow (Kathryn Grayson), the hotel's owner and childhood sweetheart of Montera, hire Doc and Wishy as house detectives, who discover the Nazi codebook and give it to Montera. They are then kidnapped by the spies, and left in a room with a bomb set to explode, but manage to escape while Wishy plants the bomb in the pocket of one of the culprits. Meanwhile, the broadcast has already begun and Montera, refusing to participate in treason, fights the spies until the Texas Rangers arrive. The spies' escape by car is thwarted when the planted bomb finally explodes. Cast * Bud Abbott as 'Doc' * Lou Costello as 'Wishy' * Kathryn Grayson as Rita Winslow * John Carroll as Ricardo Montera * Patricia Dane as Lucette Brunswick * Tom Conway as Maurice Craindall * Peter Whitney as Jake * Barry Nelson as Harry Gantley * Arthur Space as Trask * Dick Rich as Gus * Eva Puig as Marianna * Joan Valerie as Dotty * Mitchell Lewis as Julio * Eros Volusia as Herself DVD release This film, along with Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, were released on DVD on April 1, 2011 by Warner Bros. on the WB Archive Collection. External links * References Category:Abbott and Costello (film series) Category:1942 films Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Black-and-white films Category:Film remakes Category:American films Category:Films directed by S. Sylvan Simon Category:1940s romantic comedy films Category:1942 Category:Film Category:Bud Abbott Category:Lou Costello